As Hamlet requested of Horatio, it is time to once again absent myself from felicity awhile, and in this harsh world draw my breath in pain to tell you that the Half-Life 3 speculators are at it again. Over the weekend, the discovery of a mystery Valve project called "White Sands" on a voice actor's portfolio has set tongues and fingers wagging about potential Half-Life news in the offing.

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As Hamlet requested of Horatio, it is time to once again absent myself from felicity awhile, and in this harsh world draw my breath in pain to tell you that the Half-Life 3 speculators are at it again. Over the weekend, the discovery of a mystery Valve project called "White Sands" on a voice actor's portfolio has set tongues and fingers wagging about potential Half-Life news in the offing.

Read more

I've not played Counter- Strike 2 in yonks, but I know a big update when I see one. That's right: Valve have added some new crates just outside of counter-terrorist spawn, near bombsite A. This means that players can now use these boxes to hop from CT up to catwalk with little fuss, where previously you'd need to use your teammates' heads as a springboard. What does this mean as a layperson who sort of plays the game sometimes? More than you might think!

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I've not played Counter- Strike 2 in yonks, but I know a big update when I see one. That's right: Valve have added some new crates just outside of counter-terrorist spawn, near bombsite A. This means that players can now use these boxes to hop from CT up to catwalk with little fuss, where previously you'd need to use your teammates' heads as a springboard. What does this mean as a layperson who sort of plays the game sometimes? More than you might think!

Read more

Sundays are for wheeling my old gamer chair to the curb, before flopping back in my new ergonomic office chair with the same awful posture and whining, "Why doesn't it work?! Who knew that furniture named things like Titan, Pro and Conquer aren't the most conducive to lumbar support?" Before I go, "Aaaaaaahhhhhhh" so loudly I give the local cats tiny heart attacks, let's read this week’s best writing about games (and game related things!)

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Recently, because I hate myself, I was browsing Twitter (I’m not calling it X) and I stumbled across an incredible conceptual video from an artist named DEVINK that shows what they imagine a potential Fortnite X Fallout crossover could look like.

This crossover seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me and I wouldn't be surprised if something like this happened in the future, but what about Fallout crossovers from the past? Well that's what I'm exploring in today's video (above) so please do give it a click and see if you remember any of the seven forgotten Fallout crossovers that feature within.

These crossovers range from an excellent and highly detailed Minecraft mash-up and some fairly fancy, but almost definitely forgotten cosmetics for Brink, through to what can only be described as one of the most haunting pieces of headwear for the Xbox 360 Avatars that I ever did see.

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Recently, because I hate myself, I was browsing Twitter (I’m not calling it X) and I stumbled across an incredible conceptual video from an artist named DEVINK that shows what they imagine a potential Fortnite X Fallout crossover could look like.

This crossover seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me and I wouldn't be surprised if something like this happened in the future, but what about Fallout crossovers from the past? Well that's what I'm exploring in today's video (above) so please do give it a click and see if you remember any of the seven forgotten Fallout crossovers that feature within.

These crossovers range from an excellent and highly detailed Minecraft mash-up and some fairly fancy, but almost definitely forgotten cosmetics for Brink, through to what can only be described as one of the most haunting pieces of headwear for the Xbox 360 Avatars that I ever did see.

Read more

Recently, because I hate myself, I was browsing Twitter (I’m not calling it X) and I stumbled across an incredible conceptual video from an artist named DEVINK that shows what they imagine a potential Fortnite X Fallout crossover could look like.

This crossover seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me and I wouldn't be surprised if something like this happened in the future, but what about Fallout crossovers from the past? Well that's what I'm exploring in today's video (above) so please do give it a click and see if you remember any of the seven forgotten Fallout crossovers that feature within.

These crossovers range from an excellent and highly detailed Minecraft mash-up and some fairly fancy, but almost definitely forgotten cosmetics for Brink, through to what can only be described as one of the most haunting pieces of headwear for the Xbox 360 Avatars that I ever did see.

Read more

Left-handed Counter-Strike 2 players, time to raise that left hand in what could be interpreted as a celebration. In the game's latest update, Valve have added the ability to swap from the default right-handed viewmodel to a left-handed one. There's also an update to the buy menu, making it easier to track your bank account and grab weapons your mates have dropped. Alongside further UI improvements for grenade line-ups, and a tweak to the Active Duty map pool.

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Counter-Strike 2 is Counter-Strike. The formula hasn't really changed since the 1999 original - terrorists and counter-terrorists sparring to eliminate the other side or plant/defuse a bomb at one of two designated locations - but Valve's 2023 release runs better on modern hardware than 2012's Global Offensive and offers sparingly more gameplay possibilities too. Fundamentally though, the core combination of tactical, round-based 5v5 competition and satisfyingly difficult shooting mechanics remain as enrapturing and enraging as ever.

Competitive play is at the heart of the game, even more so than in CS:GO, with the Premier ranked mode taking centre stage. Here, solo and grouped players are placed into teams of five, go through a map veto process to select the stage and starting sides, then compete in a best-of-24-rounds match with their individual ELO rating on the line. These matches are a good deal shorter than CS:GO's best-of-30 contests, increasing the importance of the first rounds on each side and making it a little harder to stage a late comeback.

On the plus side, one-sided stomps are mercifully shortened, while still allowing for overtime in close matches and the exquisite economic interplay that differentiates the game from other shooters. Do you spend all of your hard-earned cash to try and steal a round against better-equipped opponents now, or save your money and accept you'll lose the next round in order to be on even footing in the round after that?

Read more

Counter-Strike 2 is Counter-Strike. The formula hasn't really changed since the 1999 original - terrorists and counter-terrorists sparring to eliminate the other side or plant/defuse a bomb at one of two designated locations - but Valve's 2023 release runs better on modern hardware than 2012's Global Offensive and offers sparingly more gameplay possibilities too. Fundamentally though, the core combination of tactical, round-based 5v5 competition and satisfyingly difficult shooting mechanics remain as enrapturing and enraging as ever.

Competitive play is at the heart of the game, even more so than in CS:GO, with the Premier ranked mode taking centre stage. Here, solo and grouped players are placed into teams of five, go through a map veto process to select the stage and starting sides, then compete in a best-of-24-rounds match with their individual ELO rating on the line. These matches are a good deal shorter than CS:GO's best-of-30 contests, increasing the importance of the first rounds on each side and making it a little harder to stage a late comeback.

On the plus side, one-sided stomps are mercifully shortened, while still allowing for overtime in close matches and the exquisite economic interplay that differentiates the game from other shooters. Do you spend all of your hard-earned cash to try and steal a round against better-equipped opponents now, or save your money and accept you'll lose the next round in order to be on even footing in the round after that?

Read more